Information Comes At A Price
by tinylexie
Summary: This is for Round 9 of alyssialui's Twister Challenge. Summary: Lucius needs information on how to get into an Unplottable forest. However, that information is not always easy to get, especially when your informant is only after your money. Takes place sometime during the First Wizarding War.


**Author's Note****: This is for Round 9 of ****alyssialui****'s Twister Challenge. In this round, we had to choose from a list of prompts. I chose to use the quote "How much do you have on you?" and the words 'prize,' 'fame,' 'fair,' and 'win.' The quote has to be spoken by someone, and the words can be used in any order (but they must be used at some point in the fic). To make all these prompts easy to find in this fic, I put them in bold wherever I used them.  
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><p>The Dark Lord wanted special ingredients for some very difficult potions he wanted made, but those special ingredients could not be found in any store. No, they could only be found in a single Unplottable forest.<p>

Only a few people knew how to break down the magical barriers and charms that kept anyone from entering this forest. Unfortunately, Lucius Malfoy was not one of those people. However, he did know where to look to find someone who did have this particular knowledge.

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><p>It was late at night, and Lucius was at a dimly-lit pub in Knockturn Alley. He had his hood up and his long platinum blond hair tied back. He was sitting across a small round table from another man, who also had his hood up.<p>

Besides them, there were only three other people in the pub. All of them, however, were sitting far enough away to not be able to hear anything. And Lucius had also cast the Muffliato Charm (no wonder Severus was also good at this secretive business) around the table where he and the other man was sitting.

Secrecy was always valued whenever it came to getting information from anywhere in Knockturn Alley. It was best to not know who you were talking to. All that mattered, at least in most cases, was that there was an exchange of information for money.

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><p>"You better not be lying to me when you say that you can get me into the Disconsolate Forest," Lucius growled warningly. "You wouldn't be the first to make this false claim to me."<p>

"I swear I'm not lying to you," the man insisted. "The information is yours, just as soon as you give me a **fair** price for it."

"How much?" Lucius asked simply.

**"How much do you have on you?"** the man asked back.

"Give me an amount, and I'll let you know if I have that much on me," Lucius returned.

The man whispered an amount.

"I don't have that much on me," Lucius replied, shaking his head slightly in disgust. "I'm not that foolish."

"Then, I guess I'll be taking my information elsewhere," the man responded.

"I didn't say I couldn't give you that amount," Lucius spoke. "I just said I don't have it on me at the moment. I need to go to Gringotts first. Look, let's set up a time for us to meet again, and I will have the money you want."

"Are you sure you have the money in Gringotts?" the man pressed.

Lucius resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, as the man wouldn't be able to see it anyways with it being so dark in the room and with his hood being up.

"Yes, I have it," Lucius answered in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Then, let's meet here tomorrow, same time. You bring the money, and I'll give you the information that you want."

Lucius resisted the temptation to laugh. "I'm not bringing that much money to a place like this, especially at an hour such as this. No, we'll meet in the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at noon."

"That place is usually pretty crowded at noon," the man remarked. "We might be overheard."

"No, we won't," Lucius returned. "It will be much too noisy for anyone to hear us or to even notice us for that matter. We'll meet there tomorrow at noon." With that, Lucius stood up.

"Just out of curiosity," the man spoke, "**how much do you have on you** right now?"

"That's none of your business," Lucius replied sharply.

Lucius passed by the man and made his way out of the pub.

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><p>As soon as he was outside, Lucius grabbed for his wand (his snake-head cane, unfortunately, stood out too much for a mission like this; so he had not bought it), but he didn't pull it out. He wanted to be ready for an attack if one came, but he didn't want to look like he was expecting one.<p>

Lucius had not missed the disappointment in the man's voice when he had refused to meet the man here, and he had also not missed the greed in the man's voice when he had asked Lucius about the amount of money he currently had on him.

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><p>Lucius heard slight movements in the shadows around him. He also heard the sounds of several sets of footsteps.<p>

So, the man had brought friends with him. There was at least three of them, possibly four, but most definitely three.

At the very last moment possible, Lucius pulled out his wand completely and cast a Shield Charm all around him. Three Stunning Spells harmlessly bounced off his shied and shot off in different directions.

So, there was three of them after all. That was good to know.

Lucius quickly cast another Shield Charm around himself. No more spells came, though.

Lucius stood still for a moment and listened hard. He heard footsteps.

Quicker than the eye could blink, Lucius pointed his wand in the direction of the footsteps and cast his own Stunning Spell. A moment later, Lucius heard something hit the ground hard.

It was now down to two.

Lucius listened again. He heard nothing, but he could feel that the other two were nearby.

Suddenly, two Stunning Spells struck Lucius's shield hard.

Lucius was not affected by either spell, but his shield was destroyed. His attackers had managed to make their Stunning Spells stronger this time.

Lucius did not have time to cast another Shield Charm before two Stunning Spells came his direction. He had just enough time to dodge both spells.

Lucius, however, was able to take note of which directions to two Stunning Spells had come from. He quickly cast two Stunning Spells of his own.

One of the targets was hit. The other was not.

No matter. It was now down to just one, and one was nothing that Lucius couldn't deal with.

Besides, Lucius could now see the one attacker that was still left. All the back-and-forth action had caused the hooded and cloaked figure to step out of the shadows and into clear view.

Lucius recognized the figure's shape and movements. It was the man that he had been talking to in the pub.

Lucius allowed himself a slight smirk. He was going to enjoy dueling this man.

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><p>The two shot several spells, charms, and jinxes at each other.<p>

Lucius resisted the temptation to laugh in delight. In a one-on-one duel, this man was good. There was no denying that.

But Lucius proved to be better when he finally managed to disarm the other man, whose wand flew straight into Lucius's waiting hand.

The man made to run, but Lucius quickly cast a Freezing Charm, which instantly immobilized his former attacker.

"Not so fast there," Lucius drawled. "I know what you wanted to do. You wanted to steal the money that I had on me, and then you wanted to force me to go to Gringotts right now in order to get you more money. I am wondering, though, what were you planning on doing to me afterwards? Were you going to kill me or just leave me unconscious somewhere?"

The man, as he was immobilized by the Freezing Charm, could not answer Lucius's questions.

"Oh, I forgot," Lucius laughed mockingly, "you can't talk in your current condition. But no matter. I don't need to hear your answers. I've heard them before. You're not the first who's ever tried to mug me, and I know you won't be the last."

Lucius began to walk towards the man.

"No," Lucius drawled, "the only question worth asking is, 'What should I do with you?'"

The man looked at Lucius pleadingly.

"You want me to show you mercy," Lucius laughed, "just like you would have shown me mercy if you had been the one to **win** this duel. But we both know that would not have been the case. You would not have shown me any mercy."

The amusement had completely faded from Lucius's eyes by this point. Now, there was only anger and hardness.

"I know this is not the best time to tell you this," Lucius spoke in a cold voice, "but I do not believe in mercy. Never have. Never will. I learned as a young child that there's no such thing as mercy in this world."

Lucius suddenly felt something coming towards him from behind.

Lucius was able to dodge the majority of the jinx but not all of it. Some of it was able to hit his leg.

So, there had not been just three of them after all. There had been four. The fourth had just been waiting for Lucius to let down his guard before striking. Clever. Very clever. Lucius was obviously not this group's first target.

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><p>Lucius fell down to the ground, screaming out in pain. The jinx had torn through the bottom of his left pants leg. And by the feel of it, the jinx had also torn into his leg itself.<p>

Lucius looked down at his left leg and saw that it was indeed bleeding slightly. It wasn't serious at the moment, but Lucius knew it could end up causing him some trouble if he didn't get it healed soon.

And other parts of Lucius's body was hurting as well. He had, after all, hit the ground very hard. If he wasn't bleeding elsewhere, there was at least going to be lots of bruises later on.

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><p>The impact in which Lucius had hit the ground had also resulted in his hood falling back, leaving his face completely exposed for all to see.<p>

"Well, well, I can't believe it," a new man's voice spoke. "It's Lucius Malfoy in the flesh."

Lucius lifted up both his wand and the wand that he had stolen moments before.

The man walking towards him, however, managed to disarm him of both wands before he could cast any spells. His new attacker easily caught the two wands.

The man then took a moment to unfreeze his companion before directing his attention back to Lucius.

"Did you have any idea that it was Lucius Malfoy we were trying to mug?" the man who had disarmed Lucius asked his companion.

The other man shook his head. The pleading look was now gone from his eyes. Now, his eyes were filled with greed and excitement.

"I've heard rumors about this one," the man who had disarmed Lucius said as he knelt at the blond-haired wizard's side. "Let's see if they're true. Let's see just how much of a **prize** Mr. Malfoy here will be to us."

Before Lucius could stop him, the man had grabbed his left arm and had rolled up his sleeve.

"So, you are a Death Eater after all," the man breathed in delight as he looked down at the Dark Mark on Lucius's now exposed arm. "And you're not just any regular Death Eater are you, Mr. Malfoy? No, not with your reputation. There's no way with a reputation like yours that you're not high up in You-Know-Who's ranks. Oh, we're going to get lots of money and **fame** when we turn you in. What do you think about that, Mr. Malfoy? I've heard that Azkaban is a very lovely place to be at."

"There's no way I'm going to be turned in to anywhere by the likes of you," Lucius sneered. "I don't recognize you, and I only recognize wizards and witches that are of any worth or importance. Are you a Mudblood or a Half-Blood?"

The man's face took on angry look. "Mudblood, if you must know, and proud of it."

"And to think that the Ministry is so worried about your kind," Lucius said mockingly. "I wonder if they would think that Mudbloods were so helpless and in such need for protection if they knew about how your kind likes to mug Purebloods. You Mudbloods are so good at playing the victim, but we both know that you're no better than me."

"Enough of that, you Pureblood bigot," the man snarled. "You have always had everything handed to you without you having to do anything for it, while the rest of us have had to work hard for everything that we have."

"You call this working hard?" Lucius drawled sarcastically. "You're right, though, four against one is definitely hard work."

"Enough," the man hissed. "You'll be going where your kind belongs, and me and my friends will be rich and famous."

In his anger and greed, the man did not notice the knife that Lucius was slowly drawing from his right boot. Lucius had not been lying when he had told the other man that they were not the first who had ever tried to mug him, and the blond-haired wizard had learned his lessons well.

The man stood up and pointed his wand at Lucius, with the clear intention of tying him up.

_You should have done that when you first got me down,_ Lucius thought. _Now, it's too late. I will be the victorious one tonight, not you and your friends. _

Before the man could cause any ropes to come out of his wand, Lucius stabbed him hard in his leg with the knife.

The man cried out in pain.

Lucius, meanwhile, quickly grabbed all three wands from the man's hands.

Before either the man or his companion could react, Lucius Stunned the both of them, using all three wands.

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><p>Lucius took a moment to retrieve his knife and to wipe it clean of all blood with his wand before looking down at the two unconscious bodies in front of him.<p>

"I better make sure the other two haven't woken up yet," Lucius mumbled to himself. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. He wasn't going to forget again that there were other potential attackers out there.

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><p>Lucius cast a Summoning Charm. Two unconscious bodies came flying through the air and landed in front of him. Lucius didn't bother trying to soften either body's landing.<p>

Now Lucius had all four would-be muggers in front of him. All of them were unconscious. All of them were helpless.

Lucius took a moment to disarm the two that he had just Summoned. He then tied all of them up (he was not going to make the same mistake as the Mudblood had done) before taking a closer look at them.

Lucius didn't recognize any of them. He wondered if all four of them were Mudbloods. Not that it really mattered. Clearly, none of them were Purebloods, so it really didn't matter if they were Mudbloods or Half-Bloods.

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><p>"Now, what should I do with all four of you?" Lucius drawled. "You were all hoping to get rich at my expense, and I seriously doubt I was your first target. No, you were all well too practiced for that. And you, hiding in the shadows and waiting until I was distracted before you struck, that was very clever of you, especially considering that you're a Mudblood. But even Mudbloods can be deceptive and twisted. I have never been fooled by your kind's false innocence and helplessness. In all honesty, though, I would actually be doing the world a favor by getting rid of all of you."<p>

Before he could help himself, Lucius started laughing. "Imagine that, me, Lucius Malfoy, a hero. Who would have ever thought that to be possible?"

After several moments, Lucius managed to compose himself. "I could wipe all your memories; but Memory Charms have always been a funny thing, and I've never really liked them. There's always the risk of complications whenever you mess around with Memory Charms. No, I think I will use something that's much simpler and much more practical. But before I get around to that, I need some information, and I'm not leaving without it."

Lucius pointed his wand and said, _"Homenum __Revelio."_ Good, there wasn't anyone around.

Lucius then pulled out a bottle filled with a clear liquid and knelt down beside the man he had talked with in the pub, the one who had started all this.

"Good thing I bought this with me," Lucius remarked. "It will make things a lot easier and faster for me. Besides, you've already wasted enough of my time as it is."

Lucius forced open the man's mouth and poured three drops of the Veritaserum inside it. Lucius then pointed his wand at the man's chest and said, _"Ennervate."_

The man's eyes opened. He looked at Lucius with a flat, emotionless expression.

"I have just one question for you," Lucius spoke. "How do I get into the Disconsolate Forest?"

The man answered Lucius's question in a voice that was just as flat and emotionless as his face and eyes.

At least the man had not been lying when he had told Lucius he knew how to get into the forest. At least Lucius would not have to risk having to deal with another informant who just wanted to mug him.

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><p>As soon as Lucius was satisfied that he had all the answers that he needed, he put up his wand and the remaining Veritaserum.<p>

Lucius then used each unconscious man's wand to cast the Killing Curse on one of his companions before placing each wand into its owner's hand.

Done with that task, Lucius took some of the money out of his pocket and cast it down onto the ground near the four dead bodies.

Lucius then took out his wand and used it to make the ropes on the men disappear. Each man, after all, had killed one of the others; and it was hard to kill someone when you were tied up.

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><p>"There," Lucius spoke after he was done. "Now the Ministry will either think this was a mugging gone wrong, or they will think, considering your blood status, that a Death Eater was responsible for this and tried to make it look like it was a mugging gone wrong. I really could care less which route they take. If your deaths cause panic within the Mudblood community, all the better. But if not, I really could care less, even though I don't want any of you to be seen as some poor, helpless victims of a sadistic Death Eater. But all that aside, I have what I came for; so no matter what happens, the victory is mine."<p>

Lucius then pointed his wand and said, _"Homenum __Revelio."_ Good, there still wasn't anyone around.

But it was as good of a time as any to leave. Lucius took a step and winced. He had forgotten momentarily about his leg, along with the other injuries he had no doubt received. Yes, it was definitely time to return to Malfoy Manor.

Lucius Disapparated from the spot.

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><p><span><strong>Author's Note<strong>**: The meaning of disconsolate, which is the name of the forest that Lucius was seeking, means "without comfort, unhappy, cheerless." Basically, this forest has potion ingredients that aren't meant for any good or noble purposes.**

**Additional Author's Note: In my stories, I always try to give my characters depth. There is never a simple "good vs. evil." All Muggle-born wizards and witches, of course, are not out to mug Purebloods. However, I also don't believe that Muggle-borns are going to just stand around and wait to be murdered. Some of them are going to strike back in their own ways. Also, since there is a war going on, there are many that are suffering financially. Also, blood status does not determine if someone is going to be a murder, rapist, thief, etc. Some people, both Muggle-borns and Purebloods, are more evil than others. In my stories, there are only a few that are truly innocent. It should be noted, therefore, that I was not trying to make Lucius the "good guy" or the "hero" in this story. At the same time, though, he is not pure evil. To me, he is a character with a lot of depth and complexities. And I try to do the same thing with most of the other characters that I write.  
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